Lock housing



E. M. MILLER July 31, 1956 LOCK HOUSING 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original FiledMarch 11, 1948 INVENTOR [DWARD M M/LLER r I AQWW W flap/m firm/vars E.M. MILLER July 31, 1956 LOCK HOUSING 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 //VVENTOR fawAno/7. M/LLER I .l-L Y Z 1 u dg/W 6 ArofS/ EW E. M. MILLER LOCK HOUSINGJuly 31, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed March 11, 1948 INVENToR[awnno M MLLER Patented July 31, 1956 LOCK HOUSING Edward M. Miller,Kent, Ohio, assignor to The C. L. Gougler Machine Company, Kent, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Original application March 11, 1948, Serial No.14,341,

now Patent No. 2,645,925, dated July 21, 1953. Divided and thisapplication December 2, 1952, Serial No. 323,680

1 Claim. (Cl. 70-443) This invention relates to locks, and moreparticularly to locks especially adapted for use on the outer doors ofbuildings, residences, or the like.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No.14,341, filed March 11, 1948, now Patent No. 2,645,925, dated July 21,1953.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved housing fora lock of the character wherein a lock mechanism is housed in a firstaperture extending transversely between outer and inner faces of a doorand a retractable bolt is reciprocable in a second aperture extendingfrom the free edge of the door to the first aperture and wherein thelock mechanism in the first aperture operates by means of an inwardlyprojecting actuator to move a retractable bolt in the second aperture.The invention comprises a plate for closing one end of the firstaperture, a first cup in the other end of the first aperture and openingoutwardly and closed by means of a cover and a cap and a second cuplying in the first aperture opposite the second aperture and openingtoward the exterior of the door, the parts being so arranged that lockmechanism in the first cup has an actuator which extends into the openside of the second cup to engage with the retractable bolt operatingmechanism.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from a study of thefollowing description of one embodiment of the invention in conjunctionwith the illustration thereof in the accompanying drawings in which;

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a fragmentary portion of a door, asseen from the hinged edge thereof;

Fig 2 is a front elevational view taken from the left of Fig. l, andshowing the inside door knob;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, enlarged approximately three times, taken onthe line as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views similar to Fig. 4 but showingdifferent working positions of certain operating elements;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 77 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are sectional views similar to Fig. 7, but showingdifferent working positions of certain operating elements;

Fig. 11 is a side elevational view taken from the position of the line1111 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a latch bolt lever and cooperatingbolt-retracting link;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a latch bolt dogging lever; and

Figs 14, and 16 are sectional views taken respectively on the lines1414, 1515 and 16-16 of Fig. 3.

Speaking first generally, the lock means now to be described, and shownin the accompanying drawings, is mounted in a door 20 in conventionalfashion. The door is provided with a cylindrical opening 20a (Fig. 3)extending inwardly from the door edge, and a cylindrical transverseaperture extends through the door between its inner and outer faces tocommunicate with the first named opening. A latch bolt 21 is shown inFig. 3, and in fragmentary fashion in Figs. 7 to 10 inclusive. Itextends through opening 20a, through a suitable aperture in a face plate22, and, when the door is locked, it projects into a keeper aperture inthe door jamb 23.

Since the inventive concept here to be disclosed is independent of thelatch bolt construction, further description of the bolt is notconsidered necessary, although I prefer a bolt of the novel characterdisclosed and claimed in my Patent No. 2,549,983 of April 24, 1951. Itis sufficient here to note that the inner end of the latch bolt isprovided with an aperture 24 adapted to receive a pin 25 carried by alatch bolt retracting link 26. Link 26 is pivotally secured at 26a to abolt-operating lever 27, which, as will appear, is operatable from theinner door knob 28, or outer door knob 29 (Fig. 3). Operations by theinner or outer knob are independent of each other. The latch bolt isprovided with spring means 21a for normally maintaining it in projectedposition, in engagement with its keeper.

The combination mechanism is housed in a cup 33 which has a friction fitin the transverse aperture in the door. The cup 33 is provided with aplurality of circumferentially spaced out turned tabs 34 adapted tocooperate with complementary inturned tabs 35 on the cap 36 in a bayonetjoint connection. The combination mechanism is enclosed between the cupbottom 37, and a cup cover plate 38 which carries said mechanism.

Extending inwardly from the cup bottom towards inner door knob 28 are apair of diametrically opposed posts 39, 39a (Fig. 11) each of which isaxially drilled and tapped to receive the shanks of a pair oflock-retaining screws 40. The inner opening to the lock retainingaperture is closed by a plate 43 through which screws 40 pass. Plate 43likewise has spaced breech lock tabs 44 somewhat offset from the planeof the major portion of the plate to permit the insertion between tabs44 and the door face of complementary inturned tabs 45 on an inner cap46. Cap 46 may be applied or removed in familiar breech lock or bayonetjoint fashion by matching the tabs on one member with the spaces betweentabs on the other member, and then turning cap 46 sufficiently to effectthe engagement.

Before cap 46 is assembled on plate 43, the apertures in the plate arealigned with the threaded bores in posts 39, and 39a. The screws 40 arethen inserted and drawn up until the door is tightly gripped betweenplate 43 and the tabs 35 on cap 36. Cap 46 may then be applied, and theassembly operation is complete.

The operation of the lock by means of the inner knob 28 will first bedescribed. The bolt operating lever 27 is channel shaped in crosssection, as best seen in Fig. 12, having flanges 27a and 27b which, nearone end thereof, are provided with aligned apertures 47 permitting thelever to be rotatably carried on post 39a. The latch bolt retractinglink 26 is pivotally secured at 26a to flange 27b near the free end oflever 27. The flange 27a has a detent recess 48 approached by means of acam track 48a on the edge of the flange (Fig, 12). A cup 49,substantially equal in diameter to previously described cup 33, servesas a cover for lever 27, and carries the lever manipulating member 50.Said member comprises a spindle 53 having affixed thereto a pair ofspaced collars 54, 55

" closely fitted, one each side of the bottom wall of cup 49,

so that spindle 53 and its collars are rotatable on the said bottomwall. The inner collar 55 is provided with a finger projection 56. Whenthe spindle and collars are rotated in the direction of the arrow inFig. 9, the finger 56 rides down cam track 48a and seats in detentrecess 48, thereby swinging lever 27 so as to retract link 26 and bolt21. While finger 56 is in recess 48 the spindle position is stable,being on the'longitudinal center line of the bolt movement, and the boltremains retracted since the spring 21a which urges the bolt to projectedposition cannot produce rotation of collar 55 by a straight pull.However, if the spindle 53 is rotated in the direction of the arrow inFig. 10, finger 56 abuts the uncammed edge portion 57 of lever leg 27a,but the finger can never reach detent 48 because, before it does so, theheel 53 of lever 27 abuts the inner wall of cup 49. Therefore in theposition shown in Fig. 10, the outward bias by spring 21a exerted onlever 27 through bolt 21, pin 25, and link 26 finds finger 56 off thecenter line of the applied force, and the pressure of lever edge 57against finger 56 rotates the collar 55 when bolt-retracting torque isno longer applied to spindle 53 thereby permitting bolt 21 to moveoutwardly.

The spindle 53 is actuated by rotation of inner knob 28, Fig. 3, sincein the embodiment shown the spindle 53 has a square end portion 53a, andthe knob is provided with an inward tubular extension 59, squared at itsinner end to telescope over the spindle.

From what has been so far described, it will be apparent that thelinkage comprising lever 27, link 26 and bolt 21 can be temporarilyretained in retracted position by rotation of inner knob 28 in onedirection until finger 56 seats in detent recess 48 as shown in Fig. 9,and that this position is maintained until knob 28 is turned backwardsto normal, door-locked position. Rotation of knob 23 in the otherdirection to a positively stopped position with finger 56 as shown inFig. 10, only holds bolt 21 retracted as long as knob 28 is held, butwhen the knob is released the bolt springs outwardly, the parts beingthen as shown in Fig. 7.

The means whereby lever 27 is actuated from the outer knob 29 of thedoor will now be described.

The transverse wall 37 which forms the bottom of cup 33 is centrallyperforated to receive a rotatable grommet 62 having fixed thereto, onthe side next to the lever 27, a rotatable plate 63 carrying a pin 64.Pin 64 is an actuator which engages the flange 27b of lever 27 in thesame manner that finger 56 engaged the flange 27a, except that there isno detent recess in flange 27b, and therefore rotation of plate 63actuates lever 27 to withdraw bolt 21, but the bolt is held in retractedposition only as long as outer knob 29 is held in lever-retractingposition.

The grommet 62 has a square aperture 65 therethrough, adapted to receivea square spindle 66 fixed in the outer knob 29. Normally a dog lever 67of plate form prevents operative engagement between spindle 66 andaperture 65, and the combination mechanism described below is devised tocause removal of the dog lever 67 to permit such engagement.

A cam plate 68 (Figs. 3 and 16) is rotatably carried within cup 33,having a hub 69 extending outwardly through a central aperture in coverplate 38. The cam plate has a square central aperture to receive, and berotated by, spindle 66. Cover plate 38 carries a pair of pins 70, 70a,pin 76 supporting a leaf spring 73 having a nose portion 74 engageablewith detent recesses 75 in the cam plate periphery. Obviously, rotationof the cam plate encounters resistance to motion, and there is adetectable click each time nose 74 enters a recess 75.

Cam plate 68 has integral therewith a plurality of cams 76 extending atdiverse angles to each other, and defining therebetween a tortuous pathwhereby a cam following pin, normally at the center, can be urgedoutwardly toward the periphery by proper rotation of the cam plate.Certain combination elements herein described are conventional, but adescription of the whole mechanism will clarify the operation.

Dog 67 is of crescent-like shape and has an aperture 67a in one tipthereof whereby it is rotatably mounted on post 70, as best seen inFigs. 4, and 6. It is normally biased to the position shown in Fig. 4 bya spring 77 fixed to the dog and to post 70a. The dog has a boss 78provided with an aperture 79 which can be aligned with grommet aperture65 and spindle 66 When the dog is forced, against spring bias, from theposition shown in Fig. 4 to that in Fig. 6. In the latter positionspindle 66 can be inserted through aperture 79 in the dog, and into itssocket in the aperture 65 of the grommet, whereupon rotation of knob 29can retract thebolt as previously described.

Swinging of the dog lever 67 is accomplished by a swingable arm 80,rotatably mounted on pin 70. The free end of the arm engages a tab 83struck up from dog 67. Counterclockwise movement of arm (Figs. 4 to 6)swings dog 67 counterclockwise. Arm 80 has a camfollowing pin 84 adaptedto be engaged by one or other of cam 76 as the cam plate is rotated,and, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, three orfour alternations in direction of rotation, each one effected by apredetermined number of click stops, forces the pin outwardly from acentral position until it finally climbs the hill on cam 76a (Fig. 16)at which time arm 80 has forced dog 67 to the position shown in Fig. 5.At this time, inward pressure on knob 29, against the bias of spring 35causes spindle 66 to pass through the aperture '79 in dog 67, and enteraperture 65 in grommet 62. Rotation of the knob then rotates thegrommet, causing the pin 64 carried thereby to rotate lever 27 and,through link 26, to withdraw bolt 21. The final position of pin 64 whenthe lock bolt is fully withdrawn, is shown in Fig. 8.

Rotation of the grommet 62 produces a further effect. The rotatablegrommet plate 63 has a tab 86 extending backwardly through bottom plate37 into cup 33. When the grommet is being rotated, this tab contacts theouter edge of arm 80 and as the tab moves from the broken line positionto the full line position of Fig. 6, the arm 80 is thrown back tostarting position with the cam-following pin 84 near the center of thecam plate.

The only thing now holding the dog lever aperture 79 in bolt-operatingalignment is the fact that spindle 66 still extends through it and intothe grommet. As soon as the grommet has been turned to retract the bolt21, and the door has been opened to prevent re-engagement of the boltwith the keeper aperture in the door jamb, the hand may be removed fromthe knob 29. The knob is freely slidable in shell 36 (Fig. 3) and springsnaps the knob with spindle 66 outwardly to the position shown in Fig.3. As soon as the spindle tip passes out of the aperture 79 in dog 67,the dog is pulled by its spring 77, back to the position shown in Fig.4, and to again retract the bolt by means of knob 29 the combinationmust again be operated.

Cup 33 is prevented from rotation with respect to its cover plate 38 bythe fact that pins 70 and 70a pass through the bottom wall 37 of thecup. A leaf spring 37 on the inner face of wall 37 impinges on arm 80and maintains the cam-following pin 84 in tight working engagement withthe cam plate 63. Another leaf spring 88 (Fig. 13) is fixed on dog 67and abuts the inner face of the wall 37 to maintain the feet 89 of thedog in sliding engagement with the inner face of wall 38.

The rotational starting point of the combination lock may be controlledin a number of conventional ways, the one here used being best shown inFigs. 3 and 14. The hub 69 of cam plate 68 extends through cover plate38, and has a smooth cylindrical portion 69a and the splined portion 6%.A fiat washer 93 is freely rotatable on the cylindrical portion and hastwo tabs 93a and 93b. The rotation of washer 93 is stopped by abutmentof tab 93a with a stop 94 struck up from plate 38. A splined was-her 95of cup like form is interlockable with the splined portion 6%, so thatit may be fixed in any one of a number of preselected positions on thehub, depending on the number of complementary splines on washer and hub.Washer 95 has an ou tturned tab 95a which clears stop 94 but which abutsthe upturned tab 93b on washer 93. It will be apparent that rotation ofknob 29, so as to rotate hub 69, for example counterclockwise in Fig.14, will produce abutment of tab 95:: *with tab 93b, and thereafterwasher 93 will be carried counter-clockwise until tab 93a abuts stop 94.

In the embodiment shown there are ten possible angu- =larly varyingsplined interlocks between w asher 95 and hub 69, and it will beapparent that the starting point of the combination operation may bevaried as desired by lifting washer 95 from splined engagement andreplacing it in a different angular position.

From a consideration of the description and drawings it will be evidentthat .the lock structure hereinabove disclosed lends itself readily tosimple installation, particularly in wooden doors. The completemechanism, with the exception of the bolt and knobs, is contained withina cylindrical space which can be cut .transversely through the door by acarpen'ters rotary cutting tool. The bolt 21, not shown in detail, maybe reciprocated in another cylindrical aperture extending inwardly fromthe door edge to communicate with the transverse aperture.

In assembling the lock in the door aperture, the combination mechanismcomprising the cam plate 68 and dog lever 67 are disposed in cup 33, andcover plate 38 is applied thereto with its bayonet joint tabs inalignment with those of the cup. The combination-setting washers areassembled on hub 69, and knob 29 with its spindle 66 and spring 85 aredisposed in shell 36 which is then clamped on the bayonet joints on thecup and cover plate. Lever 27 is then pivotally mounted on post 39a.

The unit thus built up is inserted from the outer side of the door untilthe inner face of bayonet lugs 35 abut the outer face of the door aroundthe transverse opening. The bolt 21 is inserted inwardly from the dooredge through a suitable housing in aperture 20a and its inner end ishooked over pin 25 on link 26 carried by lever 27. Cup 49 is theninserted from the inside face of the door until it rests on thetransverse wall consisting of the bottom 37 of cup 33. Inner cover plate43 is then placed over the inner end of the transverse aperture, withits edges abutting the aperture edge, and its bayonet joint lugs spacedfrom the door face. Screws 40 are inserted and drawn up. Finally bayonetlugs 44 and 45 are engaged, and the assembly is complete.

What I claim is:

A housing for a lock of the character wherein a lock mechanism is housedin a first aperture extending transversely between outer and inner facesof a door and a retractable bolt is reciprocable in a second apertureextending from the free edge of the door to said first aperture, andwherein said lock mechanism in said first aper- .ture operates, by meansof an inwardly projecting actuator, said retractable bolt in said secondaperture; said housing comprising a cup for holding said lock mechanismand insertable inwardly into said first aperture from the door exterior,said cup opening toward said door exterior, there being an openingthrough the bottom of said cup for receiving said actuator, .a coverplate closing said cup opening save for a central opening through saidplate for extension of a portion of said lock mechanism, an outer caphaving connecting means engageable with said cup and having a singlecentral opening, a knob closing said last-named opening, said cap andknob preventing access to said housing from the door exterior, an innercover plate overlying the inner end of said first aperture, a second cupin said first aperture adjacent said second aperture for receivingmechanism for moving said retractable bolt, said second cup openingtoward said door exterior and having means therein for supporting, inalignment with the opening through the bottom of said cup, saidmechanism for moving the retractable bolt, and there being an openingthrough a wall of said second cup adjacent said second aperture throughwhich a part of said bolt moving mechanism may extend.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

